LIVE AFROKALIPTYK NATION by FANGA

New album by french afrobeat group Fanga!For the last ten years or so, the collective Fanga has been on the up, blending afrobeat, jazz and funk and playing a music that is eminently spiritual. Having played with Antibalas, Seun Kuti and Kokolo, Fanga has nurtured solid relationships within the international afrobeat community. In the studio, the group's path crosses that of Tony Allen and the sadly demised Segun Demisa, both pillars of Fela Kutiís Africa 70, as well as that of the iconoclastic rapper Mike Ladd, the Jamaican Winston McAnuff infuses a reggae accent in I Go On Without You, whereas the Togo All Stars Orchestra shines out like a thousand fires on Dounya, one of the strongest and most jubilant of the album. Despite being firmly rooted in certain Nigerian and Ghanean musical traditions (those of the 1970's afro-beat and high-life) Fanga is equally at home to musical concoction, as demonstrated by the samples and other hiphop and electronic ingredients, not to mention the vocals in Dioula, English and French. The gritty horns and earthy analogue keyboards shape the groupís sound whilst Korbo has no hesitation in embracing his Mandingue roots. .